Board Certified Physician

Ministry of Public Health - Venezuela

Venezuelan Pediatric Society

Review of Possible Psychosomatic Mechanisms
Edgar Morillo
From the Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, New York
Lytt I. Gardner
From the Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, New York
In some children, psychological events have appeared to be important in the triggering of Graves' disease. This report examines the case histories of three children in whom the appearance of symptomatology of Graves' disease was associated with depression following the death of a loved one. An analysis of neuroendocrine and immunologic pathways suggests that depression, set off by bereavement, causes low levels of norepinephrine in the brain. The latter in turn may mediate an increase in ACTH and cortisol, leading to reductions in immune surveillance and resultant production of thyroid-stimulating immuno globulins, hence the development of Graves' disease.
Clinical Pediatrics, Vol. 19, No. 3, 160-163 (1980) DOI: 10.1177/000992288001900301